adventure tales and musings from a UK microlighter

Never mind. Part of self ownership is the double edged sword of being responsible for maintenance yourself. It’s great in that you know exactly what state the engine is in, whats been done, when things are due etc etc. It’s bad in that you have to organise all those things and budget for them and spend hours rigging/de-rigging and trailering the trike about.

So, I bought “Red Sparrow” (Lima Xray) when she’d done about 270 hours so I knew the 300 hour service/overhaul was coming up and although slightly concerning, the purchase price seemed reasonable bearing that in mind and I knew that after the overhaul I’d be content I knew all about the engine state and that any hidden demons previous owners might not have declared would have been discovered.

With that in mind after flying her for 3 months the engine was in the mid 290s hours and so I booked her in at Galaxy Microlights with Mark for her 300 hour overhaul service and dropped her off last week. I’d hoped to pick her up today but alas she needs a bit more doing than I’d hoped.

The crank needs a refurb and so has been sent off to a specialist to be done. That will be a few hundred quid – ouch. There are also a few other bits that need doing. I’m told the cyclinders show signs a previous owner didnt always warm the engine properly before roaring off down the runway (tut tut !). It appears there has been a cold seizure at some time and some work needs doing to the surface of one cyclinder.

A few other bits need replacement, the odd worn hose etc but nothing too major other than above.

So, looks like I’m grounded a couple of weeks yet at the height of summer. My wing is stood on its nose and base bar in the hangar collecting dust. Still, I’ll soon have a tip top engine ready for some more worry free long distance flying. Maybe I’ll spend my time planning that channel crossing holiday I have in mind!

Tuesday, early June (2nd), a long hot day, spent too long admiring the blue cloud free sky from the office car park coffee in hand inhaling a colleaugues secondary fag smoke. (well, pensions doing crap so I plan to sue him in the long term and fund my retirement!)

1730….and Im off, get home eat and go fly…

1900ish and I’m at the airfield preflight checking “red sparrow” for a lovely evening sortie. The temperature has dropped a bit, the thermals will have calmed, not a breath of wind, the blue sky beckons.

Soon I’m in the air, enjoying the smooth air and listening to the dulcit tones of Cardiff Approach handling a string of easyjets and GA.
I turn North and bimble off into the evening sky.

15 minutes later and I’m just North abeam the old Severn Bridge a couple of miles inland heading towards Monmouth. I have a balloon in my 12 o’clock a couple of thousand feet above me and about 5 miles away and I’m climbing up to meet him, will he be my friend?

Well yes, I’d read a forum post only 2 days previously about whether balloons like microlights coming near them. The answer, yes, they like it, their passengers like it, much photosnapping opportunity !
However, they don’t like you going above them because ballons can climb very quickly and the pilots eyeline is obscured upwards by the balloon.

Playing with Hot Air Balloon near Monmouth

Recalling this and obeying the rules of the air (which stipulate powered aircraft give way to non-powered) I head to its right hand side and keeping a good safe distance I level off at the same height of 6500 feet amsl.

Hello Balloonists !

The balloon is drifting in a southerly direction, which was towards me so having passed on it’s right hand side I turned left to pass around behind it allowing some waving at the baskets occupants.

One loop around and with a waggle of my wing I bid it good evening and head off.

I’m descending through 6000ft now, the few clouds I have found hang lazily like cotton wool and although I like flying over cloud I also fancy a low pass along the river at Monmouth, so letting engine idle I pull in the bar a bit and dive off some height, pausing every minute or so to give the 582 some revs. (Its a humid warm evening, ripe for carburettor icing, so it’s good to keep some warmth in the engine.)

Monmouth is attractive from the air, the river passes straight through it and is flanked by some nice old buildings including a private school and crossed by a nice bridge.

Flying over Monmoouth

I wave at a boat and a canoe below. The canoe has a team of four rowers and is zipping along leaving a long smooth wake and little dips where the oars had been !

Lush green river valley near Monmouth

After Monmouth I turn right a bit to run along the river Wye admiring it’s stunning sweeping horseshoe bends winding across the landscape flanked by rich green trees on its banks.

I overfly Eastbach Farm airfield and then turn around dropping to 1000ft to overfly a site of memories from maybe 2 decades ago, a fantastic hedge maze near Symonds Yat. I’d been there previously with my parents and brother, when it was a young maze.

The Maze Men at Symonds Yat Hedge Maze

It’s a great fun place run by two witty banter full twin brothers in stripey green jackets with red bow ties and straw boaters. They also tried to teach me to juggle !
They built the “jubilee maze” in 1977 and it’s since spawned a museum of mazes and seems to be going strong.

The maze looks great from the air and other attractions seem to have sprung up around it.

The sun is sinking into an orangey glow off to my right now, soon to sink below the hills, so I pull on some speed and whizz back Westwards to overfly Raglan Castle.

“Kemeys traffic, golf-charlie-barvo-lima-xray, inbound from the North to join overhead at 2000ft on 1024″……….no response, seems I’m the only one flying this evening.

Back at the field I descend on the dead side and do a lazy wide left hand circuit onto runway 31 and taxi up to the hangar.

Click, click…..bbbbrrr,brr.brr……………mags off and the engine shuts down.

Helmet off, suit off too, its still warm down here! The evening smells of the countryside are lovely, the birds are twittering, the sun is setting a deep orange casting long shadows from “red sparrow” as her engine emits happy creeks as she cools off.